You chose him!
by broken-inside-x
Summary: They'd finally caught him and all she could ask was why? one-shot. please reveiw


**Draco Malfoy**  
**Convicted Deatheater**  
**Awaiting sentence**

They'd actually found him, that in itself was an achievement. The fact that they'd actually caught him and hauled his sorry behind all the way down to the ministry of magic for sentencing was nothing short of a miracle. He'd been successfully evading every movement they made to capture him, slipping through their fingers on numerous occasions. He was supposed to be the best the dark side had, following in his father's footsteps and ignoring any chance of escape from his inevitable capture. They'd cornered him in the end, in a small, country village where he had been hiding for the last few days. He had no way out yet still he'd refused to go down without a fight, a fight for the freedom he thought he deserved. She lifted a bandaged hand to the large, unsightly gash across her cheekbone, a souvenir from the Slytherin Prince himself. Though where he was going that title wouldn't do much for him, especially not when he was cuffed and shackled to the walls of Azkaban, at the mercy of the dementors, with only the roaring of the waves and the laughter of the thunder to hear his cries for help. The thought itself sent flesh crawling shivers up her spine.

"He's asking to see you Hermione. 'Mione? He wants to see you? In his cell. Alone!"

Harry's voice pulled her beck from her thoughts of Azkaban and the horrors that lay within the stone walls. Green eyes stared at her from behind; obviously worried she'd been hit too hard. She ran her undamaged hand through already bushy hair, making sure to push the curls out of her face before turning to stare back at Harry. His unruly dark hair looked even more untamed than usual and his pale face was marred with his own battle scars. Malfoy had definitely gone down fighting. Unsurprisingly his wand had been aimed specifically at the two, and if he could have, she'd have bet her life he'd have taken a few shots at Ron too.

"Right, I'll go down to the cells now then" her voice was unsteady and for once in her life Hermione Granger was unsure. She watched as Harry's eyes widened in shock as he registered her answer, one which had apparently been a surprise.

"ARE YOU MAD? He nearly killed you back there! That Avada curse was centimetres away from hitting you and if it had you wouldn't be standing here! And you're going to walk straight into his cell? Four walls surrounding you and no way out! I mean, at least let me come down with you? I won't let this ferret hurt you anymore!"

She nodded her head meekly. Capturing Malfoy had put a huge strain on her and had left her feeling drained of energy. She had no more fight left in her to tell Harry that she was the smartest witch of their age and that she could defend herself as she had proved earlier. Instead she turned to walk out of the hospital wing and towards the stairs which would lead them through a number of security gates and down to the cells.

She heard him before she saw him. She could hear his gruff voice telling the guards his father wouldn't be happy. She wasn't sure if he was just being funny or if he still believed the standard line from their days at Hogwarts, but she knew that even if his father could still string two words together he wouldn't be leaving the walls of Azkaban anytime soon. It was then that she saw him. His once defined cheekbones were now just hollow. The blond tamed hair that had been gelled to his scalp all those years ago was now as unruly as Harry's hair was, his ribs poked out from underneath the remains of his shirt and the scars from the Final Battle at Hogwarts stood out, contrasting against his sickly pale skin. His grey eyes turned to stare out at her from underneath a long and dirty fringe. The hatred she saw in them almost shocked her, but this was Malfoy she was looking at. What else did she expect to see in his eyes as he looked at her? The words "filthy mudblood" ran through her mind just as they had slipped from his lips all those years ago.

"Why?"

She hadn't realised what she was saying until her voice rang out in the cell, clear and strong for the first time since they'd returned with him in tow. She hadn't realised she wanted to know but as she spoke the words she realised she needed to know. To know why he'd decided to become the Deatheater his father had envisioned him to be. When she knew for a fact that he'd wanted to be free, he had wanted to switch side's right before he branded himself with the mark and enslaved himself to the dark side. The tiny amount of light that made it into the cell cast an eerie glow around him as he turned to look at Harry who had stopped to stand against the doorway, his wand poking out of the torn jeans that hung on his waist.

"I didn't have a choice. We both knew what I was destined for"

She hadn't expected the cool, calm and collected voice that he spoke in, he sounded resigned to the fact that this was his fate. She hadn't expected him to be reasonable to her for the first time in his life and she certainly hadn't expected him to just sit there, dejectedly.

"I gave you a choice!"

Her voice rose shrilly as she demanded an answer, an answer she doubted she'd receive.

"You chose him Granger!" he yelled at her as he nodded his head violently in Harry's direction "YOU CHOSE HIM! I didn't choose this. I didn't do this to myself. YOU did this to me! That first day at Hogwarts when you chose to sit next to Potter and Weasel on the train. You did this to me that night in the astronomy tower when you chose to stay at that stupid, stupid school! When you chose to be good you sent me over to the bad side." He had risen from his seat on the floor and was now standing as close as he could get to her, shouting in her face, his arms flailing above his head in desperation and rage. "YOU PUT ME IN HERE!"

In the middle of his violent fit he had grabbed her wrists roughly and was now shaking her, trying to make her understand it seemed. She could hear alarms in the background, signalling a disruption, and she could hear Harry yelling at him to back off, his wand no doubt pointed directly at Malfoy's chest. But her mind had gone blank. His words kept replaying themselves over and over in her head as she returned to the night he had asked her to leave with him. It had been their only chance to escape. In school they would always be seen as the Gryffindor Princess and the Slytherin Prince, light and dark. Opposite sides of the battle field. She couldn't leave Harry and Ron behind to fight on their own. She was part of this fight too and she had refused to leave with him.

Draco watched as she replayed the scene in her mind, his grey eyes searching her endless brown eyes for the recognition and smirking as it dawned on her. He leaned down so that his mouth was near her ear and in a voice barely above a whisper told her

"That's right Mione, you did this to me. You chose him"

She felt strong hands pull her out of his grasp and she fell back into Harry's chest, still staring at Malfoy, her eyes glued to his own. Other guards had forced their way into the small room now to grab hold on Draco, with their wands pressed firmly against the base of his neck, next to the point where his pulse was. Sirens blasted shrilly around them, the noise vibrating around the enclosed space. And in the chaos around her, Hermione Granger managed to whisper the only words that she had not carefully planned.

"It was always you, Draco"

**Draco Malfoy**  
**Convicted Deatheater**  
**Sentenced to life in Azkaban**

_hey (: any chance you guys would mind reveiwing since you here (:  
merci becaoup _


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